Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity
2009-2010 Presidential Scholars
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Tim Campbell
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Shwetak Patel
Tim is currently a Junior majoring in Mechanical
Engineering. He conducts much of his research through the
Paul Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.
Working out of the Human-Computer Interfaces lab, Tim began
research on a project called HydroSense, which uses a single
sensor to detect water use in the home. Upcoming work will
help further the HydroSense project and develop power
harvesting methods for low-power wireless sensors. Tim
attends Mars Hill Church and enjoys cycling, climbing, and
slackening. Tim is interested in the cross between
electrical and mechanical engineering. In the future he
hopes to attend graduate school for Electrical Engineering
and research sustainable transportation technology and
practices.
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Ashley Danies
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Sara Jane Webb
Ashley Danies is a senior psychology and photography major,
currently conducting research at the University of
Washington’s Autism Center. She first became interested in
psychology and psychological disorders after having
witnessed the behavioral and personality changing effects of
such disorders within her own family. In addition to these
challenging circumstances Ashley also noticed a general
misunderstanding and dearth of resources for psychological
disorders within society which only compounded difficulties
for her family. Driven by her desire to understand the
underlying biological causes of neurological disorders as
well as to instill an understanding of these causes within
her community, Ashley began studying abnormal psychology and
neurobiology. Within her artwork, Ashley also explores
psychological themes, and uses her photographic sculptures
to communicate and explore the ways in which neurological
activity changes how an individual views and interacts with
their environment.
Beginning in Winter Quarter 2009, Ashley began doing
research with infants at risk for developing Autism Spectrum
Disorder. She focused on studying the electrical brain wave
differences between these children and typical infants with
regard to facial recognition. As a 2009-2010 Presidential
Scholar Ashley will continue to expand upon her research.
She hopes to further uncover the neurological causes of
behavior in psychopathology as well as to catalyze a
response in society to better respond to the challenges such
disorders present families and afflicted individuals.
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Safia Farole
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Sapna Cheryan
Safia Farole is a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring
in Political Science. Born in the war-torn horn of Africa
nation Somalia, Safia and her family relocated to the United
States in 1993 before the civil war in Somalia escalated.
Safia's undergraduate academic pathway exhibits her love for
the social sciences, one reason she is seeking to gain
entrance into a social psychology or political science
doctoral program. Currently, she is a Research Assistant in
Dr. Cheryl Kaiser's Social Identity lab. Also, she is
conducting an independent research project with Dr. Sapna
Cheryan about the social justice implications of the Asian
model minority stereotype. As a recipient of the 2009-2010
Presidential Scholarship, Safia will conduct her project
under the mentorship of Dr. Cheryan for this academic year.
Outside of her research and academic studies, Safia is an
active citizen in the UW community. Having served as the
Public Communications officer for the student group Muslim
Students of Social Work (MSSW) for the past year, Safia has
been involved in a campus wide dialogue that looks at the
social injustices faced by Muslim Americans and Muslims
abroad. As a first generation college student, Safia hopes
to inspire other students from a similar background to
obtain their academic goals. It is with this unrelenting
ambition coupled with a drive to effect change in the world
that Safia will be pursuing her PhD.
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Margarita Schupp
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Maria Elena Garcia
Margarita Schupp is a current senior at the University of
Washington majoring in Latin American Studies and minoring
in Women Studies. As a student-activist she struggles
towards achieving collective liberation and strives to
understand the intersectionality of socialized oppressions.
She enjoys engaging others in confronting “the mainstream”
and questioning the privilege and marginalization that is
institutionalized by sociocultural norms. Her research seeks
to explore these avenues of criticism within labor activism.
She wants to learn more about how other womyn activists
within the labor movement have created spaces to empower
themselves and combat Euro-American patriarchy.
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2009-2010 Boeing Scholars
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Thomas Gomez
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Bruce Balick
Thomas is a Senior double majoring in Astronomy and Physics
and is considering a minor in Mathematics. Thomas grew up in
Yakima County and went to school at Selah High School.
Thomas went to University of Washington in the fall of 2006
and immediately started taking math courses, initially
uncertain of what his focus of study was. A good friend
reminded him that his passion was always for Astronomy. The
next day, he went to the Astronomy Department and signed up
as an Astrophysics major. At the same time, Thomas also
talked to Dr. Chris Laws asking if he needed any help with
the Manastash Ridge Observatory in Ellensburg. He
immediately started working with a Physics Graduate student,
Joe Huehnerhoff, on his Masters thesis: Designing and
improving the focal reducing optics of the MRO telescope and
using the spectrograph at the observatory. Joe offered
Thomas a job working for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
washing and measuring spectroscopic plates and measuring
ferrules and fibers for those plates. That same year, Thomas
was awarded the John Baer prize for excellence in academics
in the Astronomy Department. Shortly Afterward, through
another Professor, Thomas was able to get a job working for
Dr. Bruce Balick and Dr. Julie Lutz. The goal of the project
was to locate galactic halo planetary nebulae. During the
summer of 2009, Thomas familiarized himself with the
research tools needed and utilized the MRO telescope to
conduct observations for the project. He is continuing to
work for Dr. Balick and will be making trips to the American
Astronomical Society to present research as well as to Kitt
Peak to take data for the current research project. Thomas
planning to get a M.A in Physics while at the UW and plans
to go to graduate school at University of Colorado in
Boulder for his Ph.D in Astrophysics and Planetary Science.
Afterwards, Thomas is hopeful to be a candidate to join the
astronaut program at NASA, becoming a teacher afterward.
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Alicia Martin
Research Faculty Mentor: Professor
Celeste Berg
Alicia Martin is a senior majoring in Bioengineering. She is
largely interested in genome sciences, and has been working
in this department since April of her sophomore year. During
this time, she has been studying genes required for the
proper formation of tubes which give rise to essential
organs, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, gut, and neural
tube. As an Integrative Research Intern supported by the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she has received incredible
assistance in learning the language of primary literature
documents, understanding research culture, and presenting
her work at other universities. In order to satisfy the
engineering and design requirements of her senior capstone
project, she will be switching projects and investigating
antibiotic toxicity. Specifically, she is interested in
understanding which genes allow individuals to better cope
with the nephrotoxic and ototoxic side effects of
aminoglycosides, a class of antibiotics commonly used to
treat cancer patients, burn victims, cystic fibrosis
patients, etc.
As the daughter of a deputy warden/ex-marine and disabled
mother as well as the sister of a cystic fibrosis patient,
she has learned the meaning of discipline, compassion, and
perseverance. As a first-generation low-income college
student, she has not had a guiding map to her future, but
has nonetheless been motivated to attain her goals as a
student and researcher. With this driving ambition, she
hopes to pursue her PhD in biomedical sciences.
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For further information related to Presidential and
Boeing Scholarships please click theses links:
Presidential Scholarship Information
Boeing Scholarship Information
Past Scholars
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206-543-6460
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